Ever-rising insurance premiums are catalyzing employers to look for new and different ways to provide their employees with a benefits plan that works for their bottom line. In August, General Motors announced a deal to partner with Henry Ford Health System to offer a more affordable healthcare option to a sample of their employees. GM’s move signifies a shift in how many employers are trying to save on their insurance costs. Specifically, to cut out the middleman and partner directly with providers.

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Getting Into the Healthcare Business

Why are companies like GM choosing to offer their own healthcare? As Max Nisen writes in a recent Bloomberg article, “It helps them save money by eliminating a middleman. Plus, they get a greater degree of control and flexibility in how they manage health-care costs.”

By contracting directly with the providers offering their employees care, GM can exercise greater control and insight into their own health insurance costs. It’s a win-win solution when the only alternative for rising insurance premiums is to resort to higher deductible plans or to reduced benefits.

GM isn’t the only one making the move. Big companies like Boeing and Walt Disney Co. have already shifted toward benefits programs that eliminate insurance companies from at least part of the equation. The result is better health for employees and cost savings for their employers. Nisen notes, “Some 11 percent of companies queried in a recent survey of large employers by the National Business Group on Health said they plan some kind of direct contracting in 2019.”

Vera Cuts Out the Middleman

Vera offers employers a solution to higher healthcare costs. Integrating an on- or near-site clinic into your organization’s benefits plan cuts out the middleman to provide unlimited preventive care for your employees at at a fixed cost. At your clinic, dedicated care teams — including a provider, health coach, and other medical staff — develop personalized plans for employees so they get healthier and you see a reduction in costs because of fewer claims.